The Fates of the Cowboys

Walt Lillehei’s years of living and operating on the edge finally catch up with him. In Houston, rival surgeons attempt to resolve four decades of bad blood.   For more information on the first cardiac surgeons, check out Dr. Gerald Imber's book "CARDIAC COWBOYS: The Heroic Invention of Heart Surgery," published by Post Hill Press in 2024.   Presented by: Chris PineWritten and Narrated by: Jamie Napoli  Executive Producers: Cristina Everett for iHeartPodcasts; Dub Cornett and Jason Ross for OSO Studios; Gerald Imber; Eric A. Rose, M.D.; John Mankiewicz; Joshua Paul Johnson; and Jamie Napoli Supervising Producer: James A. Smith Editing and Sound Design by: Joshua Paul Johnson Composer: David Mansfield Cover Artwork by: Alexander Smith Production Companies: iHeartPodcasts, OSO Studios, and 13th Lake Media Production Legal Services: Jacqueline Eckhouse & Mel Pudig, Sloss Eckhouse Dasti Haynes LawCo; and Lincoln Bandlow, Lincoln Bandlow Law  Archival Materials Courtesy of: The University of Minnesota Archives, University of Minnesota - Twin Cities; Special Collections, University of Rhode Island Library; and G. Wayne Miller, author of  "King of Hearts: The True Story of the Maverick Who Pioneered Open Heart Surgery"     Additional Archival Materials Courtesy of: "The Dick Cavett Show" (ABC 1970); C-SPAN; and Vanderbilt University Additional Music & Stock Media Provided by: Music Bed; Premium Beat; Artlist; Envato Market; ccMixter (TuneTrack); and Incompetech This podcast was recorded under a SAG-AFTRA collective bargaining agreement. Copyright 2025, TTB, LLC. All rights reserved.    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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The heart was always off-limits to surgeons. Cutting into it spelled instant death for the patient. That is, until a ragtag group of doctors scattered across the Midwest and Texas decided to throw out the rule book. Working in makeshift laboratories and home garages, using medical devices made from scavenged machine parts and beer tubes, these men and women invented the field of open heart surgery. Odds are, someone you know is alive because of them. So why has history left them behind?   Presented by Chris Pine, CARDIAC COWBOYS tells the gripping true story behind the birth of heart surgery, and the young, Greatest Generation doctors who made it happen. For years, they competed and feuded, racing to be the first, the best, and the most prolific. Some appeared on the cover of Time Magazine, operated on kings and advised presidents. Others ended up disgraced, penniless, and convicted of felonies.   Together, they ignited a revolution in medicine, and changed the world.